<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Ostranenie by Celestios</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30012870">Ostranenie</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestios/pseuds/Celestios'>Celestios</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Monsta X (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Alpha Lee Jooheon, Alpha Lee Minhyuk, Alpha Son Hyunwoo | Shownu, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Angst with a Happy Ending, BTS members to make cameos, Businessmen, CEO AU, Communication, Consensual Sex, Consensual marriage, Dom/sub Undertones, Dubious Morality, Healthy Relationships, Mildly Dubious Consent, Multi, NYC, Omega Chae Hyungwon, Omega Im Changkyun, Omega Lee Hoseok, Omega Yoo Kihyun, Omegaverse, Polyamory, Power Dynamics, Privilege, Sex, Spanking, Trans Characters, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, When it comes to the marriage for money, Will tag more as we go so I don’t clog tags, dont worry</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 21:28:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,369</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30012870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestios/pseuds/Celestios</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Hyunwoo thinks he’s got it all: a high paid, powerful position at work, a sturdy home in a high rise building, friends in high places, a booming business. The only thing left is a beautiful, sweet omega by the name of Im Changkyun to whom he’s recently married, an omega whose love he craves. He always gets what he wants. </p><p>Changkyun thinks he’s got it all: being a stay at home husband, a sturdy home in a high rise building, new friends in his big, upper class, shiny neighborhood, an alpha to care for him. He feigns innocence as well as humility and Changkyun is not afraid to take, take, take. He always gets what he wants. </p><p>They are two sides of the same coin.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chae Hyungwon/Lee Minhyuk, Im Changkyun | I.M/Son Hyunwoo | Shownu, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Lee Jooheon, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Lee Jooheon/Yoo Kihyun, Lee Hoseok | Wonho/Yoo Kihyun, Lee Jooheon/Yoo Kihyun</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Columbus Circle needs a better name</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Y’all voted for this to take place in NYC and as a native NYer let’s go!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Spring, with the incoming promise of Summer, is always what makes NYC. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo stares out from his office window, overlooking part of Columbus Circle, beginning to thrive with tourists and dog walkers and mothers with baby carriages, the sun shining down brightly. It’s a torment, really. To be stuck inside when all he wanted to do was sit under the sun and be spending time with his husband, the newly wedded sensation going straight to his head. It wasn’t either of their faults they hadn’t had a honeymoon. Changkyun simply wasn’t ready for that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He palms at the stress ball on the desk, watching the flux of taxis maneuver around a few clearly marked uber cars. He likes this part of the city—he always has. He loves all of Manhattan, from Financial District to HamHeights. There’s something so buttery and warm about Manhattan, something so dreamy. Manhattan is where dreams come true and people fall in love one too many times, where you can sit outside at night and afford to feel inspired by the lights and the tall buildings surrounding, the smell of hazy Summer lingering around in the night air. You can’t always see the stars but the moon is always present. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moon reminds him of Changkyun, and he wonders when he’ll be able to take him out and show him all that Manhattan has to offer.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A knock on the door comes, swift and crisp and he can just tell by the enthusiastic pattern that it has to be one of his friends and not an employee. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He barely has time to say come in before the door is opened quickly, and both Jooheon and Minhyuk rush inside, closing the door with a simple </span>
  <em>
    <span>click</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Hello</span>
  </em>
  <span>, beloved newlywed,” Jooheon’s voice is airy and pitched, a little giggly from being out of breath and he thinks that they both ran here from the elevator. Minhyuk looks fine, but he’s always been a fast runner, motivated by the pure adrenaline pumping through his veins at any given time. They all envy him for that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good afternoon—what brings you all the way to my office?” Hyunwoo plays along, but the facade is soon dropped and Jooheon plops down in front of his desk. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re hiding from your secretary since she wouldn’t let us in. Amazing, huh? Anyway, you didn’t answer </span>
  <em>
    <span>any </span>
  </em>
  <span>of my emails. What kind of friend, and coworker, are you?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A busy one, who doesn’t take personal emails on the clock,” Hyunwoo smiles, his comment having no real bite behind it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When are you going to let us take you out to celebrate? You and Changkyun for dinner maybe but just you for drinks. Hoseok has this idea in his head that he wants to have Changkyun over for martinis, which is cute. He makes good martinis.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He does,” Minhyuk confirms, “but I thought he doesn’t drink?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, he drinks,” Jooheon says, “and he has been pestering me non-stop about meeting Changkyun so can I get an answer? If he rearranges our furniture one more time Kihyun might have a breakdown.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo snickers at that but shakes his head. “No answer yet, I’m sorry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Boo!” Minhyuk hisses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think Changkyun is really ready for that,” Hyunwoo gives a half answer. He isn’t one to dump his feelings or worries on his friends, but they are his closest most trusted friends, his family, and confiding in them could help him solve this little mystery. “He’s shy,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Skittish is the real word. Skittish, quiet, mysterious Changkyun, with his slender nose as pretty as a Winter Morning, with eyes that seem to wander everywhere and nowhere at the same time, face thin and foxish. He hopes that Hoseok and Changkyun become close and Hoseok teaches him all about makeup because Changkyun could surely kill a man with the right smoky eye look. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“All of our omegas are shy,” Minhyuk huffs a little, smiles nonetheless, “is that all you’re worried about?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t you have work to be doing?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>I</span>
  </em>
  <span> finalized payroll, so now you need to tell me everything,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo rolls his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is he not adjusting?” Jooheon asks with genuine curiosity in his voice, laced into his eyebrows, seeping from the particles of his hair, “it must be hard to move cities, have a new life, new home, new husband. Is he nesting?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo opens his mouth to say something and stops, fingers frozen from where they’re wrapped around the stress ball. Changkyun hasn’t nested, hasn’t really done anything. He doesn’t even scent anything in the apartment, let alone Hyunwoo himself. Jooheon picks up on his body language and both he and Minhyuk exchange glances. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, that could be it,” Jooheon suggests innocently, “he’s probably stressed out. Hoseok was the same way when we moved here and Kihyun didn’t leave his nest for days. If you’re always home and always around him he’s gonna be stressed out.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hyungwon always has a nest made and I’m usually not allowed in it,” Minhyuk says in a tone too sweet for such a statement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He hasn’t nested or rearranged anything or even really…decorated. He doesn’t scent things. I just thought it was…how he was.” Hyunwoo knows how stupid that sounds, admitting that out loud, but he had thought Changkyun just didn’t like things like that. “Some people just don’t do those things.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Both his friends make a noncommittal </span>
  <em>
    <span>ehhhh</span>
  </em>
  <span> at the same time. They would be a perfect comedy duo without trying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean maybe? You know, meeting everyone and having a sense of community could help the issues you’re worried about.” Jooheon hints. “That’s not even me hassling you. That’s from one husband of omegas to another.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A bold statement but whatever,” Minhyuk checks over his shoulder to make sure the blinds are closed. Hyunwoo isn’t worried about his secretary coming and busting the two of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s up to you, if you want to do dinner sure, if you don’t want to then sure. There’s also the charity run next weekend and the bake sale there, too—which is highly fucking ironic, let me just say”—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s what I said! But apparently it’s normal? I mean I’d probably want a cupcake after running three miles too”—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But the charity run, Hoseok and Kihyun will be there and I have to tag along because they put me in charge of the cash box,” Jooheon is always being signed up for charity events due to Hoseok’s over enthusiastic nature and Kihyun’s demanding personality, “and I’m sure it’ll be fun, it’s super public and if anyone gets overwhelmed we’ll all be there”—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not going,” Minhyuk cuts him off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You think Hyungwon wants to get up at 7AM to go run in a park?” Minhyuk says with such vigor that Hyunwoo covers his mouth and stares. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s for charity! There’s going to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>cake</span>
  </em>
  <span>!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is cake inside my kitchen!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You two are going to get caught,” Hyunwoo warns. “But he's got a point. There is cake at home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do none of you care about the charity aspect?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding</span>
  </em>
  <span>,” Hyunwoo sits forward now. Jooheon has always been a little high strung when it comes to supporting his omegas but they know they will all end up there eventually. They always do. Hoseok is a good fundraiser and the community loves him. Who wouldn’t? He’s sweet, outgoing, way too friendly, and he’s beautiful. Sure, being married to both an omega and an alpha is a bit of a topic people like to play debate team on but he raises good money for good causes and hes always been passionate about it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kihyun, his partner in crime, is just as wonderful, but he’s got different tactics for fundraising. Hassling the rich old men who come by, using his omega charms to rope them in to signing up for things, demanding more of their time, volunteer work and money. Hyunwoo loves his friends but he doesn’t ever want to imagine himself as the rich bachelor that Kihyun has cornered at an event to help raise money for animal shelters. Kihyun, despite being rich now, has always had a true hatred for people not using their money, platform and resources to do better, and he shows it every minute he can. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyungwon, kind but nonchalant Hyungwon, has his way, too. He shows up, does the work needed, donated anonymously, and makes sure everything is tidy and up to date. He does good for their community and for their charities and for the world and he knows his limits and boundaries. Hyungwon is the one to say what Kihyun is thinking and what Hoseok is showing, and then some. He’s not cruel and he’s not mean but he’s a New Yorker and therefore, he gets shit done. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And all the while, Hyunwoo wonders just how his own little Changkyun will fit in with this friend group. What if he feels it’s not for him? Will he even like them? What the fuck is he supposed to do if they don’t like him or he doesn’t like them? They’ve been family for years now, living in the same high rise apartment complex, working at the same company, shopping at the same stores. Marrying Changkyun could make or break that, and somehow, he thinks they all know it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just for that I’m signing you all up to run the 5k now,” Jooheon crosses his arms and leans back in the chair to dig his phone out of his pocket. “In fact, I’m texting Ki </span>
  <em>
    <span>right now </span>
  </em>
  <span>to tell him you’ll be there, bright and early”—</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll fucking kill you.” Minhyuk says with such intensity that Jooheon stops for a moment. Hyunwoo looks at him too. “Wow, I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>kidding</span>
  </em>
  <span>, you guys thought I was serious!?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t do that,” Jooheon places a hand on his chest, “my heart really almost fell out of my ass.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We thought you were serious, that’s not funny.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a little funny,” Minhyuk raises an eyebrow, “tiny bit. Little bit funny. Small amount of funny.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” they say in unison. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyway, I’ll be </span>
  <em>
    <span>nice </span>
  </em>
  <span>and sign you up for the 10AM fun then. How about that?” Jooheon is already texting one of his husbands, and Hyunwoo nods at that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I guess it’ll be okay. It’ll give Changkyun some alone time while I’m out.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Dude, the whole point is to </span>
  <em>
    <span>bring him.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want him to get overwhelmed,” Hyunwoo says seriously, “I have been driving to work so he won’t get overstimulated with scents either.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, are you, like, dumb?” Minhyuk frowns. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Excuse me?” Hyunwoo lifts an eyebrow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s not a </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby, </span>
  </em>
  <span>he'll be fine. Or is he like, super sensitive to smell? It’s a park, it’ll be fine. Flowers and pollen and grass, he’ll be fine. Pop a Claritin.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo knows he’s not very well educated. He's never been around many omegas other than his close friends and even then, he doesn’t demand their emotional labor. He doesn’t ask them questions about it. He supposed researching on the internet would work well, too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine, if he wants to come, we’ll be there. Okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good because you’re already signed up and Hoseok has sent me…ten, eleven, </span>
  <em>
    <span>twelve </span>
  </em>
  <span>heart emojis. So you’re coming!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll show up if I feel like it,” Minhyuk says.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’d better come.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If I feel like it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Whatever,” Jooheon tosses his phone onto the desk. “I’m ready to leave, are you? We could carpool. Unless you’re worried about Changkyun smelling us?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m wearing scent blockers, unlike </span>
  <em>
    <span>some </span>
  </em>
  <span>folks, because I work in an office.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Minhyuk coughs loudly and Jooheon just glares at him. “I don’t smell that strongly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo makes a noise as if to disagree, and he does. Jooheon, though courteous and noble and married, still smells wickedly strong, the cinnamon scent too warm and fiery. Hyunwoo has smelled him in anger and choked on it. Minhyuk makes scent is calmer, salty ocean waves rolling along one another, subtle. He doesn’t need blockers but Jooheon does. And yet, he doesn’t wear them. Hyunwoo’s own scent isn’t too bad, a thick, warm toffee, but he’s considerate enough to wear blockers, a normal everyday expectation in their modern society. Blockers are sold everywhere, in bodegas and delis and pharmacies, temporarily lasting, in small bottles that only require a drop or two of the oil to smear over the scent glands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And Jooheon does not own a bottle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t mind carpooling, really. I have my blockers.” Hyunwoo says with a sure nod. “But I haven’t finished my report since you two were bothering me and so expect to stay an extra fifteen minutes.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What! No, it’s Friday, cmon. You can finish it Monday!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s due on Monday, 10AM.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then finish it Monday 9AM,” Jooheon stands now, grabbing his phone and righting his jacket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, you can afford to. You’re in charge after all.” Minhyuk crosses his legs and lifts an eyebrow and points straight at him. “Let’s go home, wash up and then get dinner tonight, yeah?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Changkyun is probably already cooking, and so is Hoseok and Ki, so let’s try tomorrow night.” Jooheon nods thoughtfully and Hyunwoo can’t argue with that logic. “Besides, I need a break from you two, and a nap.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So much for Friday,” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, yeah, lets go.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo doesn’t mind carpooling with the two since they live in the same building—Jooheon is a floor down from him and Minhyuk is 7 floors up. Hyunwoo likes his apartment, likes the drive home, although the traffic is always frustrating during rush hour. He likes the neighborhood and he likes the building and it’s staff, who know most of the residents by name. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The building lobby is spacious, always clean, the front desk large enough for the two doormen and guards that change shifts frequently throughout the day. The luggage carts sit tucked away into a space close to the door, visible but discreet, and the Long carpets are changed every week—sometimes red, sometimes black. The sitting areas' couches are bright like green, not very flattering, but he hardly notices them as he passes by each morning, hardly notices the rustic wooden table that probably weighs two of him, or the pretty diamond blue rug beneath it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When are they gonna fix this?” Jooheon murmurs, pressing the button to the 16th floor, over and over again, watching it flash on and off until it finally takes. The button in the 6th elevator sticks, and it’s annoying, but it isn’t harmful. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Never, most likely,”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The building is fast with repairs and calls but the elevators, as smooth and quick as they were, never saw many repairs for simple buttons. 16, 29, 37, 11, and 7 always stuck in this elevator. Sometimes you just needed to jab extra hard. Hyunwoo presses the 17th floor button with ease. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll annoy me until the end of time,” Jooheon hits Minhyuk’s floor, 34, as they go up as Minhyuk types something into his phone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is ‘hey the sixth elevator sucks’ decent enough for management?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Be a little more polite,” Jooheon scoffs unbelievably as he gets out of the elevator, “tomorrow, 7PM?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sure thing.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Cool!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The elevator closes and Hyunwoo and Minhyuk stand in awkward silence for the next half a moment until Hyunwoo reaches his own floor. He waves to Minhyuk who flashes a full grin at him as the doors shut before reaching into his pocket to fish for his keys. The front door is unlocked sometimes, since Changkyun has been home, but he keeps it locked for the most part. Hyunwoo unlocks the door and steps inside, sniffing the air quietly as he kicks his shoes off and slides them over to the shoe rack neatly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Changkyun smells of crisp, hard apple, bitter and sweet, tangy like a Granny Smith, ripe to the bite. It’s such a subtle scent that lingers that he can’t always tell where he is or if he’s home but Changkyun doesn’t go out. He barely leaves the apartment unless he has to—something that Hyunwoo respects but doesn’t quite understand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kyun?” He calls out, the apartment much too quiet for their one bedroom, and wanders into the kitchen. The stove is boiling up a pot of soup but Changkyun is nowhere to be seen. He lifts the lid on it to give it a stir, thinking about how well informed Changkyun must be. It’s warm out now, in the high 60’s, but it'll still get chilly in the evening. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh. You’re home.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It always amazes, indulges, enamors Hyunwoo how thick Changkyun’s voice can be, how deep, how soft and impressionable. Maybe that’s why he had chosen to marry him after all. He looks him up, taking in his wet hands as he dries them on his pants, and then reaches for the dish table hanging from the oven door. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I just got home.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was in the bathroom.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He dries his hands, and Hyunwoo goes to take off his tie and jacket and toss them into the coat rack in the bedroom as he speaks. “You’re dressed nice, did you go out?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, yeah. Grocery store. I wanted root vegetables for the soup,” Changkyun speaks just loud enough to be heard. He’s wearing a short sleeve white button up, and black slacks. He always dresses well, but he always dresses nicely if he’s going out. Hyunwoo doesn’t care if he wants to roam around in sweatpants, tattered and stained, he thinks Changkyun would be pretty either way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you go to the farmers market?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, not since I got the fruit.” He’s turning off the stove now. “How was work?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Work was good. I didn’t finish everything I had to do because Jooheon and Minhyuk stopped by for a bit. You remember them, right?” He supposed it's best to suggest tomorrow as soon as possible, just as a good warning to Changkyun, so he can prepare himself, ask questions, plan an outfit, whatever it is he wants to do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You remember they’re both married right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Changkyun nods, eyes focused on the soup. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, they’d like to take us out to dinner as a celebratory thing, since we’re just married and have yet to go on a Honeymoon. What do you think of that? Tomorrow evening, 7PM maybe?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Changkyun’s scent is a little more present in the air, a little thicker, but it doesn’t spike. He stops stirring the soup, leaning back against the kitchen counter and giving a sort of shrug. His bangs frame his cheekbones so nicely, and Hyunwoo can’t help but brush some strands of them back behind his ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’ll just be us and them, nothing fancy, nothing rambunctious. They’re dying to meet you, you know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Changkyun looks up at him with </span>
  <em>
    <span>those</span>
  </em>
  <span> eyes, curse him, those lovely, dark eyes, like the high rise after midnight, every building lit up in all its glory, kissing the top of the skies, and he blinks, thick lashes short and dark and Hyunwoo rubs off a stray lash that has fallen onto his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know which restaurant yet but I’ll ask Jooheon tonight.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s the one with two omegas, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Hyunwoo nods, heart skipping a beat at the possibility that that might not sit right with Changkyun, but he just nods. “Okay.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay, yeah. Dinner could be fun.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perfect, I’ll text him right now. I’m sure everyone is going to be so excited.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He presses a quick kiss onto Changkyun’s cheek before going off to grab his phone and start setting the table for dinner. He sends a quick text to Jooheon, asking him for the details, before going to grab bowls and spoons and asks if Changkyun wants any iced tea from the fridge, which he does, he always does, and gets ready to have dinner with his husband, looking out over Midtown Manhattan. The soup is too hot but he doesn’t say a thing. </span>
</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Midtown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jooheon comes home to his husbands.</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jooheon is barely through the front door before he's greeted by loud talking. Not necessarily angry or yelling but loud. No real heat, no fire behind the words, but it’s startling nonetheless. He’s expecting to come home to a serene scene before him, maybe by Hoseok’s excitement at the first of them all being able to attend the charity run together. But no. Instead, he opens the door to noisy chaos. He closes it behind him with a foot and manages half of a hello before Kihyun is walking straight up into his personal space. He’s pretty as always, hair combed off of his forehead, wearing sweatpants and a turtleneck, and he throws an arm in Hoseok’s general direction, who is currently hiding on the couch for cover.</p><p>“You have got to tell Hoseok to stop moving things around!”</p><p>“Hello?” Jooheon tries.</p><p>“I didn’t! I just moved the table back onto the far left side and instead of behind the couch because it will do better there! And I barely moved the couch!” </p><p>“I don’t like the table that far over! It’s pressed up against the wall!” Kihyun turns back to Hoseok, who’s still curled up on the couch, blanket covering most of his form. He’s wrapped himself in it, but his lip tint and eyeshadow is still on, which means he’s just gotten home a little while ago, too. </p><p>“The table?” Jooheon asks, looking over to where the table is pressed up against the wall, under the open counter of the kitchen. It looks fine there. </p><p>“It’s okay there, we can move it back if we have people over!” Hoseok reasons but Kihyun looks from him to Jooheon and then the both of them are staring at him and he flounders to answer. </p><p>“It’s-it’s fine, Ki, why do you care so much?” Jooheon asks, finally going to take off his shoes. “It’s over there and out of the way, it’s fine.” </p><p>“I like the open space.” </p><p>“I’m sure you two will find a compromise,” he says with a hopefully sign, “you always do.” </p><p>“What does that mean?” </p><p>“We don’t always fight.” </p><p>“I didn’t even say that! You two are problem solvers, you’ll figure it out.” He throws up a hand to feature to the table, which was cleaned off except for the mail and a box of pizza. “Did you get pizza for dinner?” </p><p>“No, for lunch, we grabbed some on the way back.” Hoseok says, still peeking over from his safe space on the couch. Jooheon crosses the room to grab a slice of pizza, now cold, and looks over the living room. </p><p>The furniture has been rearranged but he expects that from his two husbands, both nearing pre-heat at the same time. Hoseok is piled underneath a blanket and two quilts, three pillows rearranged perfectly onto the couch. He's always been pampered and spoiled during his heats, resting during them, being fed by hand and well taken care of. He’s always extra sensitive and affectionate and needs a lot of touch and skin to skin contact that Jooheon and Kihyun are happy to provide. </p><p>Kihyun is different. He wants peace and quiet, to be left alone, to not be bothered or woken up, and Jooheon knows that as well. He’ll eat when he wants and shower when he wants. When they’re in heat together, they simply tangle themselves up in one another and sleep, nearly inseparable, and he adores it every time. He’s usually allowed in the nest but if he’s not, he uses the other bedroom while they nest together. </p><p>“It doesn’t look bad in here,” he says as he chews the pizza. It’s got pineapple on it but he’ll live. It’s still soft and chewy and it’s good, and he can ignore the fact that he doesn’t believe in fruit on top of pizza but Hoseok praises it, and therefore he must succumb to it. </p><p>“Thank you,” Hoseok beams, looking small under his couch nesting of quilts, “there’s salad for dinner, if you don’t like the pizza.” </p><p>“Pizza is pizza, it’s good,” he strolls to sit at the dining table, watching Kihyun start to fuss over the pillows on the chairs. His scent is spiking, the unique and acquired scent of grape leaves concentrated, and Jooheon releases his own scent for a while. This, he thinks, is why he doesn’t wear blockers. His home life can be busy and chaotic and his husbands need him to help them calm their nerves sometimes, and there’s nothing wrong with that. He could be more considerate of strangers on the street or subway with his scent, but his husbands are first priority. And if strangers need to grimace a bit under the thickness of cinnamon so that Kihyun can eventually tire himself out and throw himself right into Hoseok’s already made couch-nest for two after fluffing some oversized pillows, then so be it. </p><p>He watches the two of them cuddle for a bit, Hoseok’s t shirt riding up a bit. Kihyun rubs a hand under his shirt to rub his stomach and Hoseok positively preens at the touch. He looks so safe and comfortable that he can’t imagine them any other way. </p><p>He barely pays attention to the buzzing of his phone and does a double take when he sees Hyunwoo’s text. </p><p>[Tomorrow is a yes. What location?] </p><p>Jooheon thinks for a moment. He’s not always good at picking out places, and his omegas are the true judgement of taste, value and service. He doesn’t want to break their time together, wrapped up in each other’s arms, but he would like to give Hoseok and Minhyuk a heads up. And he knows that his husbands will be so so happy to hear that Changkyun is coming. It’s funny, he thinks, how much they like him without even knowing him. He’s certainly going to be welcomed warmly. </p><p>“Hello my lovelies,” he goes to kneel beside the couch, hovering close to them but not invading their space. Kihyun is lying on top of Hoseok, one eye open enough to focus on him. Hoseok turns his head to look at him, bright yellow eyeshadow dotted along his lids highlighting the roundness of his eyes, sweet as sugar, large as dinner plates. </p><p>“Yes?” </p><p>“Hyunwoo and Changkyun have decided to take us up on our weekend dinner idea. Where do you thi”—</p><p>“Really!?” Hoseok exclaims loud enough to jolt Kihyun from his almost cat nap and Jooheon holds up a hand. </p><p>“Easy there.”</p><p>“We’ve been asking for weeks now”—</p><p>“Yes, we have. But Changkyun is still having a little trouble being in a new city and is a bit homesick, so we want to make sure we welcome him nicely. And the best place to do that is…?”</p><p>“Dear Irving”—</p><p>“Le Rivage”—</p><p>The two omegas look at one another, stare into each other’s eyes intensely, as if they’re exchanging telepathic thoughts and eventually nod. </p><p>“Le Rivage.” They say in unison. Jooheon blinks but nods. They have such a deep connection with one another. </p><p>“Le Rivage is decent, more on the quiet scale, the food is French, it’s reasonably priced for a Prix Fixe menu and the staff are clean and friendly, and he won’t get overwhelmed. It’s not the best around Times but it’s pretty good.” Kihyun lists off the reasons for the change. “And it’s not as swanky and alcohol based as Dear Irving.” </p><p>“Is he vegan or allergic to anything? He might not even like French food,” Hoseok frowns. </p><p>“I can ask,” Jooheon holds up his phone, “and then you can decide.”</p><p>“Ooooh, I can wear my earrings,” Hoseok gasps, excited, “and we can wear our matching rings!” </p><p>“I don’t want to wear my ring in case I lose it. You know Times Square isn’t my favorite place to be,” Kihyun mutters. And it’s true. Whenever they go there, he always angrily gestures to the stairs and the Forever21 and then asks what else there is for a native New Yorker, and even when they always suggest Broadway, restaurant row, small museums and art galas hidden away in old rickety buildings, he always ends up inside of the LINE store. It’s maddening. </p><p>“Yeah, well, it’s up to you.” </p><p>“I am now asking if french food is okay. And dietary restrictions. I hope he’s not a vegan.” </p><p>“We can find other options if he is. Make sure he’s not allergic to gluten though?” Kihyun asks, his own brief attempts at veganism rearing its head in the back of Jooheon’s mind. Jooheon texts the questions in the group chat, just to make sure Minhyuk sees them too. He leaves him on read. </p><p>“Oh, and ask if he even drinks? I don’t want to drink around someone who’s sober or doesn’t like it.” Hoseok is always thinking of others, even when it comes to the little things. </p><p>“That’s right, I don’t want to upset or offend him,” Kihyun agrees. </p><p>“I will also ask,” Jooheon says. </p><p>“Also, ask what food he even likes. We’re celebrating them so”—</p><p>“Why don’t I just call?” Jooheon suggests with a small smile. “Why don’t I call them?” </p><p>“They’re probably having dinner, don’t call, just text!” Kihyun nearly whines. “I don’t want to bother them. You’re such a millennial, just text, and they’ll answer later.” </p><p>“Fine, fine, I’m texting.” Jooheon hisses, yelping when Kihyun takes his phone. “Hey!” </p><p>“You’re texting each question at a time, make it a paragraph. You’re such a bad texter,” Kihyun giggles and shows Hoseok the phone, and he laughs too, only if to satiate Kihyun’s desire to tease Jooheon. They’re evil, the both of them. He texts quickly on Jooheon’s phone, quicker than he’s ever seen, before handing it back over to him with a pearly grin. “There. I sent a paragraph, said hello from us and they’ll answer later whenever they can. Cool?” </p><p>“Very cool of you to take my phone dear husband.” </p><p>Kihyun smiles that Cheshire smile, so daring and evil, like the sun is smiling down upon him in the living room, golden and sweet and he can nearly taste the grape leaves on his tongue as he leans over to kiss his jaw. Hoseok watches innocently, smiling at the both of them. </p><p>“I love you both,” he says so softly that Jooheon feels as if he’s waited his entire life to say it, passed with rich promises to be theirs forever, and he is. </p><p>“Can I touch you both?” Jooheon asks patiently, still hovering, and they both nod. He places a hand on the back of each of their necks and kisses them one by one, until he’s got a pattern worked up and he’s not sure how to break it by the time his phone buzzes again. He’s nearly drunk off of the mixture of them both, Hoseok’s scent dripping with need, saccharine honey mango, dazzling overripe and ready to burst forth from his skin. He eats it up, the taste of pineapple pizza still on his tongue. Goodness, he’s whipped for them both. </p><p>“Can I take you to bed?” He asks. Kihyun moans against his lips, hands flying to his face to cup it softly, but Hoseok makes an excuse about needing to take his makeup off. “Go on then,” Jooheon says, and Hoseok scurries out from the pile of them and towards the living room bathroom, leaving the two of them alone. He listens to the sound of running water and the small thud of the cabinet, probably Hoseok grabbing his plush to remove the makeup while Kihyun’s nails graze along his cheeks and he clicks their teeth together messily. Kihyun is beautiful, blessed by the heavens above, and although he is smart and cunning and capable, he is rough too. </p><p>And Jooheon loves it, loves him, and is beyond happy to have them both in his life. It had been a hard life but they are happy and cared for and safe and that’s all he could ever ask for. He’s lying if he says that he would have pictured himself married to two people in the future but he’s beyond content with his marriage. Jooheon has met them both at unexpected times and in unexpected ways and it’s shown him that life gives to those who truly deserve it. </p><p>Especially when they’re not looking.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Twitter : @autumnacorns</p><p>CuriousCat : @autumnacorns</p></blockquote></div></div>
</body>
</html>